NSA spied on Germany’s Schroeder over Iraq War opposition - report

The US eavesdropped on former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder over his staunch criticism of the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, says a new report by German journalists.

Schroeder was added to the NSA espionage targets list as number
388 by 2002, Munich daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung and NDR revealed
in their reports on Tuesday.

Media quoted unnamed US government officials and "NSA
insiders” who saw Snowden documents.

Schroeder told Sueddeutsche Zeitung that he was not surprised by
the report.

The paper added that NSA spying involved not only the detection
of connection data, but also written and spoken communications.

In 2002, Schroeder and his Social Democratic party parted with
America's views, stating at the beginning of its election
campaign that Germany would not provide troops or money for an
invasion of Iraq.

The party made a promise that it would stay out of the war, even
if it was approved by the UN.

“We are ready [to give] solidarity. But this country under my
leadership is not available for adventure,” Schroeder said
in August 2002.

"We didn't shy away from offering international solidarity in
the fight against international terrorism. We did it because we
were, and are, convinced that it is necessary; because we knew
that the security of our partners is also our security. But we
say this with equal self-confidence: we're not available for
adventures, and the time of checkbook diplomacy is over once and
for all,” he added.

Der Spiegel previously revealed that Chancellor Angela Merkel’s
mobile phone has been on an NSA target list since 2002 and is
code-named “GE Chancellor Merkel.”

In the NSA's Special Collection Service (SCS) document cited by
the magazine in October 2013, the agency said it has a "not
legally registered spying branch" in the US embassy in
Berlin. It also warned that its exposure would lead to “grave
damage for the relations of the United States to another
government.”

Using the spying branch, NSA and CIA staff have tapped
communications in Berlin's government district with high-tech
surveillance.

According to a secret document from 2010, such branches exist in
about 80 locations around the world, including Paris, Madrid,
Rome, Prague, Geneva, and Frankfurt.